Ubuntu Networking greyed out.

Hi, I have Ubuntu 8.10 installed on my laptop. For some reason when I left click on the Networking icon in the panel, all the options are grayed out. How do I change it so that I can use the Ubuntu Network manager.

Also, I can connect to any unprotected network, however, if there is WPA or WEP, I cannot connect to the the wireless using ifconfig/iwconfig or wi-fi radar. It just won't grab the IP for some reason. What's a good app for this?